By my Nightmare's
by Shinigami y Inochi
Summary: Captured during an impossible mission, Duo must either await rescue or choose the only other option left open to him... Death. While the other pilots work diligently to find him, will there be anything left of Duo if they do?- finally an update!
1. Chapter 1

**By My Nightmare's**

by Inochi y Shinigami

Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Bandai or Gundam wing. I just choose to borrow them for my own personal torture.... This story is not for profit.

*I haven't written in a very long time and this story is to try and get myself back into the swing of things. I apologize ahead of time if it's not any good, and any feedback or criticisms are always welcome and encouraged.

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Duo awoke slowly, the grogginess of unconsciousness ebbing gradually into the throb of pain. He groaned softly, laying perfectly still, accessing his wounds. The soldier in him objectively observed a broken nose, two broken ribs, and a sprained left leg. All in all, he decided, it could have been worse.

Duo lifted his head off the concrete floor, feeling his bangs cling against the surface, something wet and sticky running down his cheek. Blood he realized, moving one hand to his pounded head to check the wound. He blinked back a wave of dizziness, groaning softly to himself and willing the pain to go away.

'what did I get myself into this time.' He wondered quietly. His mind wandered back to before he began this mission, to the promise that he had made a friend….

"Duo, please be careful on this one. I've never seen a mission parameter so complicated, I really wish you wouldn't even go." Quatre bit his lip nervously, looking over the mission file Duo had been given that morning. Duo's face never betrayed his own nervousness, he'd read the mission file thoroughly, he new what kind of danger he'd be in and he didn't much like it either. But of course, as with all of their missions, he had no choice, he had to go.

"Quatre my man, don't worry so much, I can handle this no problem!" Duo laughed hollowly tossing a plate of eggs and bacon down on the counter with absentminded grace and taking a seat on a high stool to eat.

"Duo…." He cautioned eyeing his friend significantly. "If you get caught on this mission, there isn't anyone who could possibly pull you out. Not even Heero has the skill to get back into this place." Duo took a moment's pause, taken aback by his comrade's concern, knowing full well that he was right, Duo was the right choice for this mission because he was the only choice. Stealth had always been Duo's greatest asset for the team, and this mission was meant for him to prove it.

"Quatre, It's no sweat. Get in, get the information on this new weapon, get out again. Nothing too it."

"Duo just promise me you'll be careful."

"I always am Quatre"

"Duo, just promise!"

"Ok, ok, I promise."

Duo scoffed painfully at the memory, "Broke that promise." He sat up gingerly, surveying the damage done to the rest of his body. 'Not bad', he thought, 'even the head injury could have been worse. Now, how to get out of here…' In the pitch black of the prison cell he was obviously in he couldn't see much, not even the distant shadows of benches built into the wall or the soft outline of a door. 'well that's not good. I'll have to feel my way around to get out of here.'

Duo stood on shaking knees, closing his eyes tight against another bout of nauseating motion sickness and took small trembling steps forward until he found the wall. Running his hands along the cold surface, he could feel by the texture that it was stone. He worked his way slowly, getting a feel for every imperfection in the wall and memorizing areas of sharp resistance, areas he could work on pulling from the wall and using as weapons should the need arise. He had made progress toward his second wall when the sound of a key grinding in the lock of the door interrupted him.

The braided pilot crouched where he stood, arms and legs rigid in anticipation and eyes squinted against the light he knew would come streaming into the room. The door swung open on silent hinges, a testament to the keepers of the facility, either the door was opened on a regular basis meaning they kept many prisoners around, or their leader ran a tight ship and would not allow the neglect of any detail. Duo hoped it was the former, detail oriented people rarely made it easy for prisoners to escape.

Blinking against the harsh fluorescent glare that penetrated the once darkened cell, Duo turned his gaze to the room itself, desperate to memorize his surroundings, he didn't know how long he was going to be here, or what could be used as a weapon against his captors. The room was barren, all save for the tiny sink and toilet in the corner, no bench for a bed and the walls were solid stone, not a crack to be had. The pilot frowned and turned his gaze back to the doorway.

A woman stood in the doorway, dressed impecibly in the military uniform of oz, her long dark hair pulled back in a pony tail, her darkly arkaic features told him she had been born on earth. A man stood behind her dressed in a long white lab coat. It was the man who entered the room, crossing the floor with no weapon, and apparently no fear.

"Welcome, pilot 02. It was very foolish of you to try and sneak into my laboratory, what exactly were you looking for? Schematics on the laser beam canon Oz is planning on using? Well regardless, what you have found here is your own death. My name is Coroso and my specialty is human redevelopment. See my assistant over there? I would not recommend attacking me, nor attempting to escape. Her reprogramming has allowed me to create a perfect bodyguard. She would kill you before you even had a chance to move a muscle." Duo blinked at the man once, trying to keep up as the scientist babbled on about his plans. It seemed he rarely had new visitors to talk too.

'This guy likes to hear the sound of his own voice.' Duo thought, mind calculating the distance to the door, 'But lets put his little boast to the test.' Duo sprang forward, launching himself at the scientist's throat in an attempt to incapacitate him; his hands met only air. Duo blinked, turning slightly to see the woman's thin arm braced against his shoulder, holding him an inch above the ground. Duo gulped in surprise, but clamped an iron mask down on his features instantly, less he betray himself to his captors.

Coroso laughed heartily, crossing his arms over his chest. "I warned you, but I must say I admire your determination. That will make breaking you down all that much more fun." His threat sent shivers down Duo's spine, eliciting a dark glare from the pilot. The scientist laughed again, turning toward the door. "Well we might as well get started, I just hate waiting. Bring him will you Contraki?"

Coroso waved back over his shoulder, signaling the tall assistant to follow him. She nodded silently, lifted Duo's body with one arm higher off the floor and carried him toward the door.

'Alright, now this is just embarrassing.' Duo thought. The pilot drew his knees up close to his chest and kicked out with his entire body against the body guard's chest, a move he'd picked up while training with Trowa. Contraki coughed, releasing Duo's shoulder. Duo dropped to the floor in a crouch, dropping one hand to the cement floor for balance and taking off toward the open cell door like a race horse out of the chute. He exploded out of the darkness into the bright fluorescent light of the hallway and took off in the direction the scientist was heading. Coroso gasped and pressed himself against the wall to avoid the streaking bullet that was pilot 02.

Duo ran down the highway, breathing coming in short gasps, glancing back and forth trying to find an escape route. 'Damn. Should have thought this through before I took off. This place is like a maze, and I can't find any way out.' Duo turned a corner, cursing and coming to a sliding halt as he ran into a pair of Oz guards talking flamboyantly about last night's drunken escapades. The pair gasped, going for weapons as Duo crashed into their legs, knocking them both to the ground. The pilot scrambled desperately to his feet, tripping over a discarded pistol and reaching down blindly to bring it with him.

02 took two more steps down the hallway before he realized he was running directly toward the Doctor's tall assistant, and one more before he was aware enough to know that he couldn't stop. Contraki spun on her heel, delivering a roundhouse kick to Duo's abdomen, knocking the wind from his lungs and sending sprawling to the floor. Sparks danced before his eyes, and the sound of his own blood roared in his ears, and still he tried to recover and escape. Before he could raise himself up farther than his elbows, Contraki was standing over him, staring down at him with dead brown eyes. Duo held perfectly still, his mind working frantically, knowing that there was no escape from her.

"Who are you?" He asked through screaming lungs, a touch of fear in his gaze.

"No one. Not anymore." She replied, reaching down to drag him to his feet. Her bulk led him down the hallway against his will, without even trying she drug him to the scientist's most precious room…..

Duo woke slowly, curled up on the cement floor of his cell with his legs pulled as close to his chest as he could, both in an attempt to keep warm and as a way to reduce the amount of pain his limbs were in. He groaned, testing the limits of his arms by stretching. His right arm had been broken, repeatedly and he couldn't seem to set the bones back correctly. Unlike Heero, he wasn't capable of setting the bones himself, each time he tried he passed out before the bones moved enough to make a difference. Every muscle in his body ached and he couldn't seem to concentrate for very long without getting dizzy.

'Damn it he's done me over.' Duo worried. He knew very well what kind of permanent damage the kind of brutality Coroso was fond of could cause, and he was extremely worried that if he ever got out of here, he might not recover. He lost track of how long he'd been here, months now at least. At some point he had hoped that the other pilots would come to his rescue, a brilliant charge of glory like Heero had done for him before, but no one had come. Part of him knew that no one would, he knew that it wasn't possible for anyone else to break into this place but him, and he had failed to even do that part of the mission. Quatre's warnings repeated over and over in his head like a mantra, "Not even Heero has the skill to get into this place…."

The wounded pilot sighed heavily, wincing as the action pulled at sore muscles. 'I do believe I'm stuck here.' The realization had been coming for a while. He knew that he was doomed from the moment he had been put back in this cell, but it's amazing how resiliently the mind will cling to the idea of hope. That cling to hope has driven more than one person mad and saved the lives of countless more; but Duo had lost the desire to dream.

The door to the cell swung open quietly, bright light flooding the desolate room. Duo winced, involuntarily curling into himself even more. He had lost the determination to fight his captors when they came a while ago, more out of lack of strength then lack of will, in fact, Duo was fairly certain that Coroso treated him worse then he would have another prisoner because he refused to yield to despair. The pilot's resilience against his torture seemed to piss the scientist off, either that or excite him,; Duo wasn't quite sure which.

Contraki, entered the room with a stoic look on her face. She moved across the room to where the pilot lay, placing a hand, almost gently on the small of his back. Duo flinched away from the touch as it sent sparks of pain down his spine. The bodyguard moved to lift him to his feet without so much as a spark of sympathy. Duo bit his lip to stop the cry that threatened to escape and leaned heavily against his captor as she lead him out into the hallway and back to his torturer.

Contraki glanced at the bruised and beaten pilot out of the corner of her eye every few steps, seeming to consider something only she knew the answer too.

"You know it would be better for you to just give in to him. No one is coming for you, you must know that. The longer you fight him, the harder he will try, and he will break you in the end. He breaks everyone, you will not be the exception. Just give him what he wants and life will be much easier on you." Contraki stated matter-of-factly after a few moments of dragging the pilot along. Duo started, pulling his head up a fraction of an inch to look at her. If he had had the strength to speak, he would have screamed at her for even thinking such a thing, but part of him died in that instant, the part of him that was holding on to the last bits of hope for rescue trembled and curled over, dying in Duo's mind. The shock of her words made him physically tremble and he lost the last bit of strength he had left in his limbs.

'She's right.' Despair finally creeping into his very bones, penetrating every cell and killing his spirit. 'It's over.' A single tear, the only tear he shed during the long cruel months of torture, escaped from behind closed eyes, weaving down his cheek like a traitor.

Just then, they reached the very room that would haunt Duo's dreams for the rest of his life, the room where Coroso waited for him. The door slid open into the wall, letting the bleach filled air escape into the hallway. The bright surgical lights hanging from the ceiling gave the stainless steel table in the center of the room an ethereal glow. Coroso stood to one side of the table, invitingly like Duo's entrance was always welcome and they were close friends.

"So my good pilot. I trust our rest was foefilling? Are you ready for another day of our games?" The scientist didn't wait for a reply as his assistant strapped Duo's arms and legs to the surgical steel. "I think that we'll try something new today. You've done quite well up until now, but a dear friend of mine informed me that pain alone might not work on a pilot of you're calliber, so we're going to work with some new toys today!" He sounded so excited to Duo, like this was a tea party and he was bringing in a new recipe he had just figured out for chocolate chip cookies. It made the pilot sick.

Coroso turned from the table and returned with a scalpel and what looked like an electrical probe. "I apologize. This might not hurt as much as I want it too." The probe touched his bare chest with a spark, sending convulsions through the pilot's body. Duo arched his back off the table, biting back a silent scream of agony. He saw red behind closed eyelids, even after the probe was removed; but Coroso did not give him time to recover before he moved in again, this time drawing the sharp edge of the scalpel across his clavical. Duo felt the pain of the blade tearing through his flesh, and the hot pulse of blood as it flowed across bare skin. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that the scientist had never been quite this brutal, broken bones and torn muscles, but no permanent damage. For some reason he seemed to have wanted Duo to remain intact for some task he had set out for him, but no more. Now it felt as if the doctor was preparing for his inevitable death, in the most painful way possible.

The scientist paused, looking Duo in the eye with a dark grin. "Now I want you to understand what's going to happen now. That wound that I gave you is very deep. If you pull against your restraints, you will pull the wound open further, which could kill you very quickly. However, if you desire to live, you will not move. Let's see how long you last shall we?"

Duo's eyes filled with understanding and terror at the same moment, the look made Coroso's grin widen. The pilot drew in a long shaky breath and something in him snapped. A spiraling tendrel of fear spun through him, like the sensation of the floor dropping out from under him. Across the room he could faintly hear a cry of protest, something he had never hoped to hear coming from the stranger.

"Sir, why? Surely he's more use to you alive!" Contraki took a step forward, her mind urging her to protect the boy she had come to respect.

"How dare you speak back to me! My motives are my own. You will obey, or leave the room and I will deal with you later." Duo heard a sharp intake of breath and a moment later the retreating steps of the bodyguard. His mind raced, covering all possibilities left to him. He could hold his ground, hold perfectly still and let the sadistic bastard carve into him some more before throwing him away back into his cell until the next time he wanted to get his rocks off; or…. His mind fumbled slightly with the next idea, it wasn't something that had ever been trained into his brain. He could give up. He could move, tearing his chest open beyond repair and sink into the quiet sweet oblivion that was death. A small voice inside him protested, how could he think of giving up, and yet…. Why not? What do I have to keep me here? Surely the other pilots thought him dead already, what difference would it make to deny this bastard of one more day of torture?

Duo had resolved himself quietly, giving over his fate to the heavens, ready to die. Coroso looked him over silently and moved in to place the probe back against his chest. Duo tensed, pulling muscles together, gathering them to burst forward and separate damaged flesh. Suddenly an image came to him, dark tossled auburn hair framing a pale stoic face, and penetrating cobalt blue eyes searching his with an unspoken question.

Heero.

Duo gasped, mouth open wide in shock. His head swam with a thousand emotions, all pulling at him from different corners of his mind. Heero would never forgive him for giving up, even in the face of his death. He had not after all, when Heero self-detonated he accepted his mission as the only way to complete the necessary tasks, he held no fear in him. How weak would he think Duo now if he gave into despair now? Would he even be worthy of being called a gundam pilot if he did? Would Heero still call him friend and comrade? Would the others?

The probe came down against his flesh, pulling all thoughts but one from his mind. 'NO. I won't leave without him.'

Every muscle in his body threatened to break out of his skin, tensed to the point of breaking, but not one of them twitched outwardly. Duo held perfectly still through the agony of electricity flashing through his every nerve. Coroso frowned hauntingly, setting the probe down again, this time just above his heart. Duo jumped slightly, the wound in his chest expanding at the soft pressure, before he clamped down on his muscles once more. Duo felt the erratic flutter of his heartbeat change and the edges of his vision blurred. Coroso seemed aware of his dampening heartbeat as well and he smiled sardonically. The probe came in contact with sweat dampened flesh one last time and Duo lost all senses, a save for pain, a pain that seemed to last forever…..


	2. Chapter 2 Where has my heart gone?

Chapter 2

Heero tossed an information disc across the room in frustration, the thin material crashing into the wall and shattering into a hundred pieces. The expert pilot ran tired fingers through his messy brown hair, a frown on his angelic features. Quatre looked up from his computer monitor on the other side of the room in sympathy.

"Nothing?" He asked quietly, already aware of the answer.

"Hn." Heero grumbled spinning in his chair away from the glowing screen and standing to stretch his legs. "Not a thing. It's as though the base disappeared, or never existed. I don't understand. We've dug through all of Oz's financial records for the past ten years and nothing!" Heero pounded a fist against the desk top in front of him, leaving a slight indentation in the cherry wood. Quatre sighed softly, his own frustration evident in his posture.

"I know Heero, but there's got to be something! They can't run an entire base on nothing. There has to be a record somewhere, an email stating the location, transfer orders for soldiers, something." He tried to sound encouraging, but the words came out flat and unconvincing.

"Quatre, even if there is, it's taking too long. What if they…" The pilot couldn't finish the sentence. He turned his head away from the Winner heir, hiding the pained look on his face. He couldn't understand why it was so important for him to find Duo, but ever since he'd broken him out of that oz base the first time… They had become very close friends, closer than he'd ever let anyone get, and he just couldn't bare to lose him, not again.

Months had gone by without a single word about pilot 02. Oz was not publically stating his capture, Heero wasn't even sure that the higher ups in the organization even knew that they had him. It worried the pilot even more, if they weren't telling the commanders that someone as important as a Gundam pilot had been taken down, there had to be a reason; and Heero was growing more and more concerned about what the reason was. The strategist in him calculated options open to someone who held a Gundam pilot captive, each more sadistic than the last. Heero also knew that, though Duo had been trained to take on any kind of torture, no one would last forever under constant pressure. It wasn't possible, one either broke and told their captor's anything they wanted to hear, or the mind cracked beyond repair and any information that they had in the first place was lost, along with it's bearer. The possibility of finding Duo in that kind of state sent a sharp pain through his chest, and he did not know why.

"Heero." Quatre half whispered, not daring to say the words any louder, least the information he was looking at disappear, a silly reaction, but one he had none the less. "I think I might have found something…."

"What?" Heero flew across the room with speed only he could accomplish. His eyes scanned the computer screen over Quatre's shoulder, his frown darkening as he read each line. "That's it? It was right there the whole time?"

Heero crossed his arms in contemplation, something didn't feel right about this. The information that Quatre had pulled was on a basic research facility, minimal security level, right here on earth. It all seemed too easy, why would the Doctor's send Duo on a mission to infiltrate a research facility, and for that matter, how did the pilot get caught in such a place.

"It doesn't feel right to me either Heero." Quatre stated as though he'd read the other pilot's mind, which Heero was beginning to discover was more often then he'd like. " But I saw Duo's mission schematics and it was anything BUT low level security. I wouldn't stand a chance at trying to break into the place." Heero's face went blank, a mask of indifference covering up his features while his mind raced with a thousand options. The predominant one being a full on frontal assault with his Gundam, though he knew better than to draw that much attention toward them.

"May I make a suggestion?" Quatre asked, reaching for his cell phone. Heero raised an eyebrow at him quizzically. "Why don't we try some subtlety. Trowa would have a much better chance at infiltrating this base then either one of us could. He could transfer in as a officer, or an inspector and see just how tight the security is. He might even be able to get Duo out of there."

The wing pilot took a deep breath, letting it out silently. He hated to admit it, but Quatre was right. Trowa would be a better candidate for this mission, even though he wanted to be the one to enter the base and exact his revenge on every person there.

'Revenge?' The thought caught him off guard. 'What do I need revenge for? Duo's the one who should want revenge. Why am I so hell bent on defending him?' Heero shook the disturbing thoughts from his head, focusing on the problem at hand. He nodded his assent to Quatre and the golden blonde bent his head to dial Trowa's number.

"Trowa? It's me. You remember that mission we talked about? I have a location for you." Quatre's business-like manner belayed his excitement at finally making headway toward recovering their lost team-mate. Quatre's senses had been tuned almost exclusively to Duo's since his disappearance, and what he felt made him worry even more. He could feel Duo fading bit by bit, and he didn't know how to do anything about it without first finding his friend. To a lesser extent he could sense Heero's growing angst over Duo's vanishing act, even if the stoic soldier didn't know it himself, but that problem could be dealt with later; after they got Duo back.

Hanging up the phone, Quatre looked up at the troubled eyes of his fellow pilot. Heero seemed to be contemplating things lately, and his eyes betrayed his confusion.

"Can I ask you something Heero?" Quatre interrupted his revere, it seemed to take a few seconds for Heero to come back to the present. He nodded at Quatre, a silent assent for him to delve deeper into troubled waters. "Why are you trying so hard to find him? Seems to me that if he's gotten himself caught this many times, he's just a liability to the mission. Wouldn't it be better to just leave him there?"

Heero looked taken aback a moment and Quatre watched the wheels turn as he came up with a plausible, if completely false, reason for wanting to retrieve his friend. "This mission was not his fault. They shouldn't have sent him in there, no one could have completed this mission. It was a form of suicide." He stated matter of factly. Then he frowned, looking at Quatre with suspicious eyes. "Why are you so willing to leave him all of a sudden? Seems to me you are the most likely of the team to want to see him rescued. You two were the closest, and you don't believe in leaving a man behind."

Quatre shrugged. "I'm not suggesting that I would leave him there. You're right that I would do everything in my power to get him back, but I find it interesting that you are putting so much effort into this. It's not normally your style to get worked up over anything other than a standard mission."

Heero snorted a disdainful reply, covering up his own contemplation of Quatre's words. The blonde was right after all. Heero had spent more time hunting Duo down the past few months then he had on missions, in fact he had only gone on one mission since Duo's disappearance. One that J had specifically ordered him to complete immediately, but his heart hadn't been in it. The stoic soldier paced toward the door, giving Quatre no real verbal reply, but all the reply that was needed for the empath. Quatre smiled as his fellow pilot escaped down the darkened corridor of their safe house.

"You just don't know how much he means to you yet Heero, but you will. I'm sure of it."


	3. Chapter 3 Will you rescue me?

Chapter 3

Contraki walked out of the surgical suite in a rage. 'How can he be so quick to throw away a Gundam pilot? What is he up too?' She paced up and down the brightly lit hallway, emotions flying through her mind in constant contest. She had been trained to take orders, she should not question her master, and yet…. Some part of her remembered a time of great pain, when she submitted Coroso had become her master and the pain went away….

"Ah! What am I thinking?" She called aloud, throwing up her hands in exasperation and stalking down the hall. She walked silently berating herself for not trusting in her master until she reached the base's barracks. She paced over to the communal kitchen, unaware that there were other people in the room. The other soldiers on break, looked up at her stormy entrance, but were smart enough to keep their mouths shut as she poured herself a glass of water.

Finally she turned away from the sink, realizing she was being watched. "What?" She demanded harshly, a glare hardening her already tough exterior. Every head in the room turned away from here, glancing at the space around them, the floor, the walls, a coffee cup; anywhere but at their commanding officer. "Well? Don't give me that bull if you have something to say you'd better say it." She looked from one soldier to another, her eyes coming to rest on a tall lanky man at the back of the room. His eyes were closed against her glare, but not in fear, merely in indifference. His dark chestnut hair fell over one eye, held in place by too much gel, and corded muscles stretched even under the uptight uniform of an oz officer.

Contraki's glare turned downright menacing as she crossed the room in 3 long strides. She grabbed the front of his pristine uniform in her large hands and lifted him an inch off the floor. The move startled his, and he clenched a fist involuntarily before gathering himself back under control.

The two soldier's seated at the table stood up, hands going for guns in their holsters. "Ma'am?" The shorter of the two questioned, taking a step toward her.

"Who is this?" She demanded, never taking her eyes from the soldier in her big fist. He held no fear for her, simply relaxing in her grip quietly, waiting for her next move. His pale green eyes were on her, challenging…

"Ma'am, this is Trowa. He's a new transfer from the La-Grange base here on earth. " The man replied, taking another slow cautious step forward, hand resting on the grip of his gun. "Ma'am, you really should put him down now."

Contraki snorted. "Oh he is, is he?" Her attention returned to the soldier she held captive, a cold smile broke out across her hard features. "Well then, I should be welcoming you then shouldn't I?" She slowly released him back to the ground, his feet touching the ground with barely a sound, even in the heavy boots of his uniform.

Suddenly, Contraki swung a fist straight for Trowa's face, a right hook designed to knock him flat on his ass. Trowa caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, ducking with only moments to spare. He could feel her huge arm brush across the top of his head as he dropped to his knees. Instinctively, he swung his left leg out to sweep her legs out from under her, but the big woman was more agile than she let on. She jumped over the Gundam pilot's legs with grace and the ease of a dancer. Trowa, took a step back, rising from the floor in one fluid motion and going for the gun holster at his side, just as a flurry of motion exploded in front of him.

Trowa blinked in udder shock, all movement stilled as he felt her left fist go through the wall beside his head. A tiny trickle of blood trailed down the side of his temple and past his chin, disappearing in the high collar of his uniform. The pilot held perfectly still, waiting for his opponent's next move.

Contraki smiled hauntingly, a knowing in her eyes and a cold darkness clouding her features. "Welcome." The word passed her lips as she turned, leaving the stiffened pilot cowering against the wall, anger bubbling up inside of him.

Trowa watched the woman leave the room, keeping completely silent as his eyes burned daggers into her back. 'Before I leave here,' he vowed silently, 'I will see you dead.' The two witnesses in the room rushed forward to help their comrade, bombarding him with questions, are you ok, how did you do that, man that was amazing… Trowa paid them little heed, his focus was on the retreating back of the officer.

Trowa shook his head silently, pushing off the two soldiers, making a vague excuse about going to the infirmary and left the kitchen, his destination anything but the medical ward. Trowa escaped to a quiet hallway, walking softly, thinking about his sudden encounter.

'She was making a point.' He thought frowning, taking a hollow breath. 'If it comes to a fight to get Duo out of here, I can't beat her. She's too fast, even for me. The only person who could challenge her would be Heero, but do I call him into this? Is he level headed enough to accomplish the mission, or will the sight of Duo send him into a blind rage? It's not like him to lose his head, but from what Quatre has told me lately, it just might happen. Can I even get him out of here? No one has mentioned holding a Gundam pilot hostage, and the place works on a skeleton crew. Why was this place even a target? ' The flood of questions caused a sigh to escape the normally silent pilot. 'I'm not going to find him right away, that has become quite obvious. I can only hope Duo can hold out a little longer until I can figure this place out.' With that last thought Trowa whipped the steady river of blood off his temple in disgust and made his way back to the barracks.

His walk back toward the main level of the base was short lived. As he moved silently through the hallways, he heard heavy footsteps ahead of him. On impulse, he ducked behind a nearby corner, watching for the owner of said footfalls to enter the brightly lit hallway.

Contraki walked stiffly through the fluorescent lights, something obviously on her mind. The un-natural lighting gave her dark hair an almost greenish glow, and made the officer seem all the more formidable. She turned to a locked door on her right, flashing her security badge to open the maximum-security lock. She paused then, hand holding the door open slightly.

"I know you're a Gundam pilot." She stated matter-of-factly to no one in particular. Trowa stiffened at her words, and drew his weapon silently, as well as pulling out his cell communicator, his only means of contacting the others. "I know you're here for the other pilot." She turned toward his hiding place, completely unafraid, knowing full well that he held a pistol at ready and was extremely skilled at using it.

"He's behind this door. Should I tell him you've come? Should I give him that glimmer of false hope? Or will you let him die in peace?" She paused, waiting for an angry retort, any sign that she gotten under his skin. Trowa gave no outward sign that he ever heard her words, let alone that they might bother him. "You won't get too him. Even if you breach the Doctor's security, which I highly doubt, you still have to go through me; and we both know you can't beat me. We've just proved that fact. Make no mistake, he will die here, and if you're not careful, you'll be joining him." She turned from him then, pushing open the door and walking through without a backwards glance.

Trowa's mind raced, he was now faced with two options, let the door close and hope for another opportunity to get to Duo, or catch the now closing door and follow Contraki inside. The pilot lowered his weapon slowly, clenching his fists in frustration as he watched the door slowly swing shut. The frustration built as he realized he might be letting the door close on his only opportunity to rescue his friend. 'Forgive me Duo.' He thought as the lock clicked closed, the only sound in the long hallway, the click echoing against the walls like the final bang of a gun, the sound of finality.

Trowa slide open his communicator then, connecting with Quatre in seconds. "I need 01, now." It was all he needed to say, closing the COM and sliding it back in his pocket, he resumed his trudging walk back to the barracks.


	4. Chapter 4 Why?

By my Nightmare's Chapter 4

By Shinigami y Inochi

Genre: angst,

Disclaimer: I seem to have forgot this on the previous chapter so here it is: I don't own Gundam wing, or any other characters in this story that belong to Bandai.

Reviews: Would love critiques! Using this as a way to get back into writing and would love suggestions!

Contraki made her way back toward the lab, scrunching up her nose at the pungent smell of blood as she neared the door. She waited a moment outside of the sliding doors, listening for movement from inside. She could hear Coroso humming quietly to himself and figured it was safe enough to enter.

The doors rushed open to reveal a scene that would have fit very nicely into a horror movie. The Gundam pilot lay unconscious on the surgical table and the Doctor stood over him cheerfully stitching his chest back together. It was obvious to the soldier, even if she had no medical knowledge to draw from, that he was not doing his best job at making sure the stitching was secure and tight. The pilot's chest rose and fell shallowly under his hands, a testament to his resilience. Contraki had never seen her master act this cruelly to one of his victims, especially one that she thought he had a mind to keep. If he broke, he would make a perfect infiltration soldier. He could walk back into the other pilot's lives and end them as quickly as he had entered.

"Sir?" She asked, coming to attention across the room from the gruesome scene laid out before her, not daring to step into the pilot's blood that now coated the floor in crimson red. The scientist looked up from his work with a frown.

"Contraki. Good. The boy's spent for the day. Take him back to his cell. I think I'll let you do some lashings on him tomorrow. I don't have enough strength in my arms to give him a good blow, but you would do some damage with a cat of nine tails. " The scientist finished his stitching and gave a boy an injection of synthetic plasma, antibiotics, and electrolytes to replenish the blood lose he had just experienced.

" Sir, I thought you were finished with him?" She asked, feeling an internal shudder at the prospect of tearing the pilot's flesh.

Coroso glared at her, furious. "Shows what you know of Gundam pilots. He can take much more than I'm dishing out. If I want him to be of use to me I have to make him forget that there was ever anything before this." A smile broke across his features, the smile only the truly insane wear. "Much as I did for you my dear. Can you remember anything before me?"

The officer was taken aback; memories flashed before her eyes, memories of pain and screaming, but none of family or friends, of a life outside of this facility. "N… No sir." She replied, shaking the sensation off as quickly as it had come.

"Now you see? You are a perfect soldier, without those pesky memories holding you back." He tied off the last stitch with a sloppy square knot and poured alcohol directly on the mess, smirking as Duo instinctively arched against the burning pain as the alcohol hit his wound. Contraki winced quietly from across the room, her own chest aching in sympathy. "You can have him now." He waved over the panting pilot, who was slowly coming back to consciousness, dismissively. He began to tidy his tools obsessively, rinsing the blood away with a dark fascination. Contraki shook her head, disgusted, and moved to remove the pilot's tattered body from the table.

Contraki carried the cold boy back to his cell in silence, forcing her own mind to remain quiet. "He's so young." She thought before she could stop herself as she set him down on the floor of the tiny cell. "He is too young to be here, too young for this war. What have we done?" Something within her heart broke for him, she reached out to feel his cheek tentatively, gently even with her large hands. The boy flinched away from her even without knowing who touched her and the tiny spark of humanity he had awakened fled as quickly as it had come.

The soldier stood stiffly, her features returning to the cold mask she wore each day. She turned on her heel and strode quickly out of the cell locking the door behind her and plunging the boy into darkness.

Duo woke hours later, shivering in the dark. He curled in on himself, pulling his legs into a fetal position trying to conserve warmth. The movement pulled at the large stitching across his chest, he gasped against the pain as blood began to leak around the sloppy patch job. Focus came into his eyes while the red haze of pain ebbed away and he tried to access his situation. The wound on his chest ached and he was cold all over, his mind supplying that the shivering was due to blood loss, he was anemic and his body was trying to compensate.

'Why am I still alive?' Came the unanswerable question after the logical part of his brain had done its job. 'Why didn't he just let me die?' Duo bent his head, touching his forehead to the cool cement floor, tears welling up in defeated eyes. He lay that way for what seemed like hours, wafting in and out of consciousness, finally gathering the courage to sit up. As gingerly as his beaten body would allow, he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. The room swam before his eyes, the vertigo making him want to vomit, but there was nothing in his stomach to get rid of. The pilot fought for breath in this position all night, his body completely depleted of all reserves. Tears of anguish ran down his cheeks, although he could not feel them. The boy was completely unaware of his surroundings, focusing solely on forcing air into his lungs all that was Duo Maxwell was fleeing, hiding away in his own mind, afraid of what the morning light might bring.

Contraki forced open the cell door loudly, the artificial light of the hallway streaming into the tiny space. Coroso followed close on her heels, peering into the room with glee at the prospect of playing with his favorite toy. The soldier frowned when she saw the bloody Gundam pilot sitting cross-legged on the floor where she had left him last night. His eyes were glazed over; it was obvious that he had not even registered their presence just yet.

"Perfect" Coroso grabbed the pilot's pale chin in his hands, turning his face from side to side to examine him, Duo never raised a hand to stop him. The doctor turned back to the doorway, an enthusiastic expression on his face. "String him up." He commanded, stepping back. Contraki hesitated, a brief millisecond of time where her heart rebelled, and then her feet were moving of their own accord, pulling her prey to his feet and lashing his hands together. A flash of reality crossed his face then and he looked at her pleadingly, his body so broken he could do nothing to defend himself.

"Why?" Was the soft croaking sound that came from his raw throat, the voice of one who knows that they are already dead? She watched him, her mouth open but she could say nothing to him, nothing that would be of any consequence. Contraki lifted his thin frame up above her head, settling his hands around the hook in the ceiling, letting his body hang from his wrists. Duo threw his head back in a gut wrenching scream as his weight began to pull at the ill-placed cross stitch that held his chest together. Blood dripped down his bare skin in crimson rivers, punctuated by the soft plop as droplets his the floor. Coroso giggled gaily in the corner, dancing his way over to the pilot and handing a long whip to his assistant.

"Hurts? Don't worry, this will hurt worse. Plead with me. Plead with me Gundam pilot and I will see you serve me, and there will be no more pain." Duo could not focus on him, his eyes rolled back in his head as another scream tore through his throat harshly; he pilot panted, his muscles shaking in agony. Coroso snorted, frowning at the pilot's lack of response, he signaled for Contraki to begin. The soldier gulped quietly to herself, drawing mentally away from the situation and functioning on autopilot.

The cat-of-nine-tails whistled through the air, striking the shivering boy with enough force to knock him into a forward swing. Duo's skin tore smoothly as the tiny blades on each tail streaked across his back, leaving angry red wounds that bled freely. The pilot tried to scream, but could only cough as hot burgundy blood bubbled up from his lungs. His head fell forward, darkness creeping into his field of vision.

"Again!" Was shouted across the room and the whip swirled again, scrapping through already damaged flesh. Duo flinched away, his entire body trembling, but made no plea to his captors. The whip twisted in the air, preparing for another strike when the sound of a single gunshot filled the too small confines of the prison cell…

Trowa opened the door to the docking bay just before sunrise; a silent figure dressed all in black creeping through the underbrush came up to the pilot. Trowa nodded slightly, closing the doors behind the pair and headed down the abandoned hallway.

"Where is he?" Heero questioned, getting straight down to business. His fellow pilot put a finger to his lips and led him through winding corridors. They came to a stop before a locked door; the same one Trowa had watched Contraki open the day before.

"Can you crack it?" He glanced down the hallway, scouting for lookouts. Heero examined the security system critically, pulling out a thin knife and cutting into the device. The exposed wires were cut, reattached and re-cut as the pilot fiddled with the settings that he needed to open the door. After several minutes of work, the door finally slid open. Heero looked satisfied at the open door, stowing his tools and pulling a 45 from the holster under his arm. He unzipped his leather jacket, exposing a black leather belt with two other weapons concealed against tight jeans. Trowa drew his own weapon and the team moved into position, traveling tactically through dimly lit hallways, searching for their lost comrade.

Several minutes of stealthy travel brought them to a brightly lit surgical suite; an observation window covered one entire wall. The room stood empty, but cleaned instruments lay on the counter drying, instruments one would not find in a normal operating room. Heero studied the array of torture devices, his anger growing as images of the weapons being used on his fellow pilot flew past his eyes. Trowa encouraged is friend forward, continuing their mad search for the pilot; they held quietly behind a corner when they heard footsteps. Trowa turned to Heero then studying his friend.

"Heero, there's an issue. The one in charge has a very capable bodyguard. She won't give him over easily."

"She give you that cut on your forehead?" Trowa nodded.

"She's faster than you."

"Then we'll just hope she's not armed when we reach them." Heero's determination disturbed his fellow pilot. It was one thing to be confident and driven, but this was not like Heero. The perfect soldier was ignoring his training and throwing caution to the wind, all in an effort to save a fellow pilot who had gotten himself in too deep. There was something else going on here, but Trowa wasn't sure if he should broach the subject just yet or not.

The pair came around another corner into a long brightly lit corridor when a blood-curdling scream echoed off the walls all around them. The sound seemed to drive all semblance of control from Heero and he dashed recklessly down the hallway, his pounding footsteps reverberating like gongs throughout the hall.

"Fuck." Trowa cursed and sprinted after his teammate. Heero reached the open door of the cell first, with Trowa close on his heels. The perfect soldier too a brief second to assess the situation in front of him, and watched as a tall woman swung her whip around for another strike. The pilot took aim instinctively, planning to put the big woman down in one shot, and fired.


	5. Chapter 5 On my way home

By my Nightmare's Chapter 5

By Shinigami y Inochi

Genre: angst,

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam wing, or any other characters in this story that belong to Bandai.

Reviews: Would love critiques! Using this as a way to get back into writing and would love suggestions!

Chapter 5

The whip paused in mid swing, falling lifelessly to the stone floor as Contraki grabbed for her wounded shoulder. It took a moment for the pain to set in, but when it did it sent the soldier into a rage. She turned swiftly on her heels, facing her challengers' head on. Trowa crouched by the doorway, gun held level with her eyebrows and Heero had one gun trained on her chest and another on the scientist cowering in a nearby corner.

"Cut him down." The command was cold, emotionless. Heero's eyes were dark with determination, catching every movement in the room with the grace of the trained killer that he was. Contraki studied him only a moment, memorizing his style, predicting the outcome of each move he could make. She bent down, as if the surrender the whip she was still clutching in her hand, and reached into her boot instead, pulling a throwing knife from a hidden pouch. She threw the knife with deadly accuracy, hitting Trowa on his left side as he turned to dodge the missile. The heavy arm's pilot crumbled to the floor silently, holding off around the wound. Heero glared at her, pulling the trigger on his 45 again; his enemy leapt to the side, dodging the bullet, but just barely. She regained her feet from a roll and snapped the whip at Heero's chest, leaving a series of shallow stripes through his dark shirt, the only thing that protected him from being entire ripped open was his jacket, it caught one of the talons on the whip and pulled the weapon from Contraki's hand.

Heero winced and untangled himself from the long tails of the whip, stripping himself of the protective covering, but not fast enough. Contraki was on him in a moment, slamming him into the wall behind him forcefully. Heero dropped his gun when the impact hit him, but he was not considered the perfect soldier for nothing. Reaching into his belt he pulled a Kershaw knife from its sheath, driving the smooth blade into her ribs. The bodyguard grunted, but did not pull away from him. Her arm closed around his throat, cutting off his air supply in one simple motion. Heero struggled against her hands, pulling the knife back to stab her again.

Before he could make another incision into vulnerable flesh, he found that Trowa was standing directly to his attacker's side, a pistol trained on her temple. "Let him go. " The simple command had more power behind it than any blow could have, and Contraki looked at him a moment. She smiled at the pair hauntingly, slowly releasing her prey and dropping her hands to her sides.

"I see now why your team is so unstoppable. You have no fear of death, and complete loyalty." She fell to her knees before them, her breath coming in short gasps as she fought against the pain of her wounds. She looked at Trowa then, her eyes sad. "Perhaps I should have given him your hope. Maybe then you could have saved him." Trowa blinked, his gaze flying to his fallen comrade still hanging from the ceiling, then to Heero. The silent signal was all that the pair needed, Heero ran to Duo's side, lifting him up to release his hands and then pulling him gently to the floor. Trowa turned to face the other body in the room, the scientist held perfectly still watching them with morbid fascination. He looked up at the cocking of Trowa's gun, fear making his eyes grow black.

"What are you going to do with me?" Coroso trembled visibly, the coward showing his true colors, yellow. Trowa held him at gunpoint without answering him, turning his attention to his two friends across the room.

Heero pulled the pale pilot down from his crucifixion, drawing him into his lap on the stone floor. The stoic man examined his friend closely, going over every inch of his body with his eyes, tracing every wound. The pale boy lay unconscious in his arms, his skin cool to the touch and his breathing shallow. He was bleeding from the deep gashes on his back and around the poor quality stitching on his chest. Heero could tell from the extensive amount of damage that they didn't have a lot of time to get medical treatment before the pilot was beyond saving.

"Duo? Duo?" He called his name again and again, shaking him gently with each request, but the limp form of his partner never moved, nor gave a sign that he had heard him. Heero began to panic quietly, rocking Duo back and forth in his arms.

"Heero." Trowa drew him back to the present, requiring his gaze with the command. He looked up at the tall warrior and his captive across the room without really seeing. "Do we keep him alive?" The question seemed to shock the perfect soldier back into reality, triggering his training. He shook his head after a moment's consideration.

"We won't get him out of here without being noticed. We have enough to deal with taking Duo out." 01 turned his deadly gaze on the scientist, all of his rage, his desire to torture him as he had done to Duo burned into the Doctor's eyes, scarring his very soul. "Kill him."

Trowa's fingers pulled the trigger without the slightest pause, the bullet whizzing through the air and into soft brain matter. Coroso crumbled to the floor, lifeless. Heero was disappointed, all he wanted at that particular moment was to re=enact every single day of torture he had put Duo through. He wanted to make the man suffer, but they didn't have the time and he had far more important things to worry about getting Duo back to safety. He turned back to the too thin body in his arms and lifted him with ease.

"Hold on Duo. We're going to get you out of here." Heero comforted, moving toward the door. Trowa followed close on his heels, neither pilot paid the fallen bodyguard any heed, a mistake they would surely regret in the future.

The team of pilots raced down deserted hallways, making note that this section of the base must be off limits to all personnel save the ones they had just dispatched. The thought made Trowa all the more cautious; surely an alarm had gone off somewhere when they broke their way in. They made their way back into the common areas of the base, moving more slowly as they tried to avoid patrols. They rounded corner after corner, never seeing a soul until finally they entered the hanger where they were to meet up with Wufei and make their escape.

Gunfire greeted them as they entered the larger room, the sound reverberating off of the high ceilings. Wufei crouched near the far door, a volley of gunfire pinning him down. Every few moments he would lift his head above the crate he was hiding behind and take out one soldier with a precisely placed bullet. Trowa turned toward the group of soldiers, noting their focus on Wufei and not the door. He loaded a full clip into his 45 and took aim at the nearest of the group. Four soldiers fell before the group realized they were under attack from both sides.

The realization caused the last of the team to break rank without any leadership. They ran from the room, or hid down behind cover, not daring to face three gundam pilots alone. Trowa used the opportunity to get Heero and Duo across the room unharmed. They met up with Wufei without a word, and the group ran for the nearest exit.

They ran through the underbrush, the sound of leaves bending against their bodies echoed all around them, but they paid the noise little heed in their headlong flight to freedom. The jeep they aimed for was hidden extremely well in the underbrush near the road, unless one came right up to the vehicle, they would never know it was there. Wufei fired up the engine while Trowa helped Heero lay Duo across the back seat. They sped out onto the road, tires squealing and engine roaring, but they were at last out of harms way, at least for the moment.


	6. Chapter 6 When you wake

By my Nightmare's Chapter 6

By Shinigami y Inochi

Genre: angst,

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam wing, or any other characters in this story that belong to Bandai.

Reviews: Would love critiques! Using this as a way to get back into writing and would love suggestions!

Chapter 6

Heero woke with a start when his elbow slipped out from under him. He jolted straight in the big armchair he had fallen asleep in. He glanced anxiously toward the large bed where Duo lay, still unconscious. Heero sighed, standing and stretching out the tight muscles in his back, smirking as a blanket fell to the floor at his feet. Quatre must have been in to check on them earlier. The stoic pilot moved quietly to the bedside, taking one of Duo's hands in his checking for a pulse.

The 02 pilot had required a great deal of care by the time they had gotten him back to the base. As soon as the team walked into Quatre's desert base, the blonde millionaire had gone pale and ran for the phone. After contacting Sally to get her out of Asia he had the maguinacs sneak her into the base, only an hour after his first panicked call.

Sally had immediately ordered the kitchen sterilized and stretched Duo's battered body prone out on the center island. She had managed to re-stitch the wound in Duo's chest, but if he lived he'd have a rather nasty scar. The wounds on his back were harder to treat. She had settled for stitching what she could and bandaging the rest, hoping that his youthful flesh would make the attempt to reseal the open wounds. Thankfully, Quatre's team was well stocked with medical supplies, including antibiotics, pain meds, and sedation. Heero was even more grateful for the last when Duo woke while Sally was re-suturing his chest and almost struggled off the table. With Heero and Trowa holding the pale pilot down, Quatre had managed to help Sally dose his IV.

Now, Heero studied his once jubilant friend with angst-ridden eyes. Even with fluids and nutrients being pumped into his system day and night he was still far too thin and deathly pale. Sally had agreed to stay with them for the duration, she had told Heero later it was because she was not sure that Duo would make it through this, even with all that they had done.

"The human body isn't meant to take this kind of punishment." She had confided in him late one evening while changing the dressings on Duo's back. "It's likely that even though we want him to come back, no matter what we do his body may just give up the battle on him."

Ever since that statement Heero had not left the Death scythe's pilot's side. He slept in the armchair near the window, waking every few hours to check on his partner. In the middle of the night, when it seemed as though Duo's breathing was shallowest, he'd whisper to the pilot, begging him to stay with him, to not give up. He never knew if Duo heard him or not, but it comforted him no the less to talk to him as though he could.

The passage of time had no meaning for Heero anymore, he only knew that days passed when the other pilots came to bring him meals and to check on Duo, or when Sally arrived to change bandages. His only real companion was Duo's hollow labored breathing, reminding the despairing pilot that he was still alive.

As the days turned to weeks Duo's shallow breathing turned to anguished moans. He would shift on the bed unconsciously, trying to keep healing flesh from touching the sheets. Heero would talk to him soothingly, rubbing his hand lightly against his cool skin as Duo trembled in pain, doing what he could to lift the bed ridden pilot up off the sheets and into his arms, without causing more discomfort than good. The pilot would sigh in his sleep and lean closer to Heero's warmth instinctively, the more it occurred the more it drove Heero mad with feelings he was not ready to face.

Then the nightmare's came. Duo would thrash against the bed in sheer desperation screaming his lungs hoarse with terror. Each time it happened Heero would pin his arms to the bed as best he could, waiting for Trowa and Wufei to burst through the large door at the sound of Duo's scream to come to 01's aid. With the three of them holding him down, the pilot would scream himself out and finally lay back exhausted while Heero attempted to bring him back from his dreams through his own will. Quatre would make his way slowly into the room only after they had calmed 02 down, always clutching at his chest as though someone were tearing at his very soul.

It was after a particularly bad episode that Heero's strength finally failed him. Duo's struggling ceased as swiftly as it had started, leaving the three pilot's dazed and not yet trusting their friend enough to release him, when Heero's knees buckled beneath him and he sank to the floor in defeat. Quatre came flying across the room in a headlong dash, grasping Heero's should to support him and keep him from crumbling all the way to the floor.

"That's enough Heero. You can't keep doing this. Let one of us take care of Duo for a while. You have to get some sleep." Wing Zero's pilot shook his head stubbornly, refusing to move from his station. "Heero, you're no good to us dead; least of all Duo. If you love him enough to watch over him day and night then you love him enough to get some rest and take of yourself first!" Trowa and Wufei stiffened next to them, feeling very much out of their element during this particular conversation. The two pilots prepared themselves to rescue the tiny blonde as soon as Heero lunged for him, but stunned pilot never moved either too weak on his feet to put up a proper challenge, or Quatre's words had struck the right cord.

"I don't..." Heero started frowning deeply his gaze full on denial. Quatre's eyes turned deadly, the sky blue going stormy with anger. He stood over his weakened comrade like a mountain.

"I swear to all the gods of heaven, if you argue with me right now." He didn't finish his threat he didn't need too. Heero's stunned gaze was all he needed to know that the stubborn pilot would comply. "Now, I will take care of Duo, you get yourself a shower and some sleep. You look like death. " Heero stood without thinking and left the room to head towards the hall bathroom, his head swimming with a thousand unanswerable questions. Was Quatre right?

Wufei watched his teammate leave the room silently, his gaze flying to Quatre's stiffened form in utter shock. "What, exactly, just happened?" Trowa smirked. The blond pilot softened with a sigh, putting a hand gently on Duo's arm.

"Was it really necessary to call him out on it?" Trowa broke the silence more than a minute later. He studied the soft man before him with greater respect.

"He hasn't left Duo's side since we found him, and he was obsessed with the search before this. Perfect soldier or not, he's fallen for him, and he will do Duo far more good if he acknowledges his own feelings sooner rather than later." Quatre's matter-of-fact statement showed he had been studying his friend's behavior for quite a while. Trowa held his tongue. He agreed with the slim blonde, but he wasn't sure that Heero would take kindly to the realization. After all, he had never before put anything before the mission, and he wasn't sure that the feelings were reciprocated. Duo had never shown any sign of being interested in his fellow Gundam pilot, and his recovery would not enlist itself to the development of a fair relationship for quite a while.

"You do him an injustice by not letting him figure it out on his own." Wufei crossed his arms behind Trowa, looking disapprovingly at Quatre's back. Quatre whirled on him then, the same firry gaze he had pinned Heero down with earlier on his face.

"Duo might not have that kind of time, or haven't you noticed that he's getting worse, not better? What if he decides he's better off dead and never wakes up? He probably doesn't even realize that he's been rescued." His audience held perfectly still, neither one trusting themselves to keep from arguing with him. Finally, Quatre threw up his hands and retreated to Heero's abandoned armchair.

Trowa pointed Wufei toward the door, deciding that Quatre would be better off with some time to cool off. He turned back to the worried blonde in the doorway, he caught his eye meaningfully. "You are not the only one worried about him, we all are. Heero most of all. You must remember who he is and not be so hard on him, after all, love is not a luxury any of us can afford during a time of war. It should be enough for him right now to be concerned about a fallen ally, to worry about our ability to win without him. In time he will realize what he really wants, and you would do well to remember that not everyone knows what they want right away; or can see the love that's right in front of them." He left Quatre in a stilted silence to contemplate what the tall pilot had meant by his words.


	7. Chapter 7Do you know I love you?

By my Nightmare's Chapter 7

By Shinigami y Inochi

Genre: angst,

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam wing, or any other characters in this story that belong to Bandai.

Reviews: Would love critiques! Using this as a way to get back into writing and would love suggestions!

Chapter 7

Heero leaned against one arm on the shower wall, the hot water cascading down his back and over rippling muscles. His whole body felt tense, pressured like he was about to go into battle, but he hadn't faced an enemy in weeks. The heat of the shower relaxed him slowly, giving him time to think about everything that had happened. Quatre's words rang through his head like a gong, he couldn't escape their meaning. Did he love Duo? Could that be why he felt as though his whole world was crumbling into bits of rubble when the braided pilot's breath failed him? What if he did love him, would it change anything between them? A growl escaped his throat and he slammed his fist into the beautifully tiled wall, sending shattered pieces of porcelain clanking at his feet. Pulling his hand from the freshly made whole, he examined the bleeding fingers of his fist with fascination.

"Why is this happening to me!" He screamed, his voice echoing eerily against the acoustics of the bathroom. Heero Yuy, master of all gundams, the one pilot who was in control of himself at all times, stronger willed and more capable than any enemy, crumbled to the shower floor; a complete emotional wreck with no answers in sight. He kneeled there, breath coming a loud gasps until the water was too cold for even him to stand anymore.

Duo's eyes fluttered open softly, his vision blurred from disuse. It took him several moments to focus on his surroundings and a minute more for him to move his head and not feel dizzy. He gulped against his dry throat and a wave of pain hit him like a ton of bricks, eliciting a hoarse gasp. Quatre was instantly at his side, the tumble of blond hair coming into his field of vision too fast for his mind to comprehend.

'Dead.' He rationalized his mind tumbling through all he could remember. 'He must have had her hit me one too many times and I'm in hell, or maybe I'm lucky and I ended up in heaven. Doubt it though. This must be some new form of torture, but if I'm in heaven why is Quatre here and not Heero?' Duo scoffed at that last thought, a bit of his old self coming through. 'Because even in heaven I wouldn't get to keep him, he's so far beyond any one man, or woman for that matter.'

"Well hey there sleepy head, welcome back." Quatre chided cheerfully, his eyes glistening in the bright light of the sun flowing in through the curtains. "We were worried that you weren't going to come back at all."

'We? What's going on? Where am I?' Duo's mind raced with a multitude of questions, most of which incoherent even to his own head. The pain came again when he tried to speak, but Quatre quieted him quickly.

"Shh. Don't try to talk yet. I'm going to go get Sally and some water." Quatre turned to rush off in his excitement, but he paused a moment, seeming to remember something vital that he needed to tell the fallen pilot. "Duo." He drew the dazed man's attention softly, waiting for his wild amethyst eyes to focus on his face. "You're safe now. No one is going to find you here. Nothing is going to happen. You're safe." He repeated the sentiment soothingly, knowing what doubts must be running through his mind. He rushed off quickly, intent on getting Sally in there to check on him as soon as he could manage it.

Quatre raced into the downstairs living room, out of breath and flushed a soft pink. The two pilots sitting in the room looked up at him with concern, wondering if Duo was having another episode. Trowa put down his book quickly, about to rush up the stairs after the lilthe blonde, but Quatre shook his head at him.

"He's awake." He trumpeted breathlessly. The others watched as he rushed off into the kitchen, still looking for Sally before they made their way toward the stairs.

Duo closed his eyes against the glare in the big room, his sight still slightly blurred from disuse. He could hear footsteps coming down the hallway toward his room, but he didn't have the heart to open his eyes yet.

"Something's not right. How did they find me? I must be hallucinating. My mind is playing tricks on me, what do they call that, a defense mechanism I think. I'll wake up soon, just make sure I don't get attached to the idea of being out of there. " He opened his eyes slowly, focusing slowly on the figure in the door.

"You're awake." Heero's hair was damp, the strands clinging to his head and sticking out at odd angles. He discarded the bright blue towel he had been carrying as he crossed the room, kneeling next to the bed afraid to touch the other pilot, afraid he would break him if he moved too quickly. Duo cringed automatically, pulling his hand away, Heero stopped in midair, putting his hands back in his lap. "How are you feeling?" He regretted the question before the words had left his lips, but he couldn't stop them. 'Of course he's not feeling well. He's been in a coma for weeks and he just pulled away from any human contact. What were you thinking?'

Duo didn't answer him right away, he seemed to be studying his face, trying to find something to focus on. "Heero?" His name came out as a question, a need for confirmation. Heero nodded twice, reaching out again, this time making contact with Duo's shoulder, the braided pilot winced again but did not pull away. "You're safe now Duo, everything's going to be ok." The wane body in front of him looked up as if he had spoken some foreign language; as if he couldn't believe that he was really standing there, really touching his shoulder.

"It's over?" Was all the question he could muster, he waited a brief second for Heero's nod before breaking down. Tears streaked down his cheeks in waves as the relief flooded his very being. Heero's face fell and he pulled his hand away, horrified that he might have caused the other pilot some kind of pain.

"Duo?" His concern showed on his face as he looked at his friend. Duo shook his head, a faint smile creeping into his eyes.

"I'm just so… so relieved. Am I really out?"

"Of course you are. Wasn't Quatre with you? Didn't he tell you?"

"He was. I just couldn't believe him. I thought I was hallucinating." The confession took Heero a moment to process. He hadn't thought he was real?

"Duo… Duo, I swear it's real. I swear on my life that they cannot hurt you again." The heartfelt pledge seemed to calm Duo down a bit, his eyes cleared and he nodded at Heero. He leaned back against the pillows behind his head, seeming as though all this strength had suddenly left him. The stoic pilot looked at his partner with new eyes, eyes that could see just how fragile the young boy really was.

The braided man's eyes were sunken in, his skin so pale it was almost transluscent. His breathing was still labored, and Heero could hear the fluid swirling in his lungs as he took each shallow breath. The pilot was awake and coherent, but far from out of the woods.

"Do I look that bad?" He asked, seeing Heero study him so intently. A look of surprise crossed Heero's face before he shook his head.

"No, you look a lot better." Duo held his tongue, doing his own mental evaluation. If he looked as bad as he felt then Heero was blatently lying; but then again he might be telling him the truth and he had really been that bad off. He had this overwhelming urge to jump out of bed and go somewhere to be alone, to run all night and burn off some pent up anger. He just wanted to be anywhere but here. Shifting against the pillows told him that that particular wish would not come true for quite a while, he could feel the stitches move in his chest as he breathed and pain eminated dully from his entire back. The silence in the room was slightly un-nerving, he didn't want to think, but images kept flashing before his eyes; images that he had no control over. He could hear Coroso's sarcastic comments and the sound of his own screams reverberate in his head and there was nothing else he could focus on.

"Heero, thank you for getting me out." The words left his lips just as the others crowded excitedly into the room, each wearing an equally happy expression. The troupe bustled to the bedside, Sally going for the heart monitor and checking his IV while the others made their hellos. Duo obediently smiled at each of them, a hollow empty smile of one who isn't sure they're ready to face what lay before them. Heero stood from the bedside, his hand trailing briefly on Duo's hand as he moved.

The braided pilot's eyes shot to him instantly, the panic in them almost audible. "Heero…" He watched him walk toward the door something akin to hysteria growing in his chest. The stoic man's cobalt blue eyes looked back at him sadly. "Stay?" The request was little more than a whisper, but ever person in the room caught the pleading in it. Quatre looked across the room at the taller man, just in time to see him nod imperceptibly and lean his back against the wall.


	8. Chapter 8Are you ready now?

By my Nightmare's Chapter 8

By Shinigami y Inochi

Genre: angst,

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam wing, or any other characters in this story that belong to Bandai.

Reviews: Would love critiques! Using this as a way to get back into writing and would love suggestions!

Chapter 8

Duo stood tentatively, pushing off the bed as slowly as he could. He walked the few steps over to the open window, the soft summer breeze ruffling his hair. The pilot leaned against the wall gently, his strength already waning from the exertion of moving from the bed. A frustrated growl left his throat at his own inability to function. To a man so used to the disciplined training of a soldier, this lack of strength both frightened him and shook him to the core. If they were attacked in this place, he would be little more than a liability. He had no way of defending himself, let alone aiding in a counter strike.

The call of birds filled the room, a soothing sound for the pilot. The quiet happenings of animals on earth were always a source of solace to him. Duo knew that he would never be the same after this confrontation, both mentally and physically. His chest was still tight, the wound had been healing well, but the effect of re-suturing the wound had left him with diminished lung capacity, never again would he be able to run as far or as fast as he had before. It would take months for his muscle structure to repair itself, and months more for him to be an asset to the team again. Duo had never heard the other pilots say anything about his disability, a word he used specifically for his problem, but he knew that they had to be considering him a detriment to the mission. There was no good use for a soldier who could not keep up.

The realization had taken very little time for him to reach. He knew before Heero and Trowa had come for him that he would be no good to anyone after this. Even if he recovered, he was just another soldier, easily expendable in these times of war. Better that the other pilots decided his fate than an enemy mobile suit taking him out because he couldn't handle the combat. Better he disappear than be used as a morale boost for Oz.

Duo had decided weeks ago that he would leave the group as soon as he was able, something he had not told any of them that he would do. They would be better off without him trying desperately to recover faster in their prescense. He was grateful for their rescue, sometimes. There were moments, moments when he could barely stand and his chest heaved with lack of oxygen that he wished that he had died in that lab. That he had given up on all of this pain and opened himself up to oblivion. No one would ever know how the God of Death felt, they would all consider it weakness, and a soldier is only good for one thing.

One shaky hand ran through his tangled mass of hair, a gesture he had adopted more and more often lately in his frustration; and yet he couldn't help but smile at Heero's handy work. Who knew the perfect soldier could learn so quickly to braid hair, and he was as good at this task as he was at anything else he did. What struck Duo as strange was how much time and enjoyment the other pilot seemed to get out of the task. He had asked the auburn haired boy one evening, when they were alone in the big room; the moon flowing elegantly through the open window, why he helped him with his hair.

Heero had replied with a slight shrug, a simple gesture, but one that had more meaning coming from Heero than it would have anyone else.

"I like doing it. You can't take care of it yourself right now, and for some reason it soothes me. I don't have to concentrate very much when I'm brushing your hair." What he hadn't said was that he loved the feel of the chestnut locks between his fingers, the silken coolness of it running over hardened calluses. The whole experience had become sort of heady to him, a mixture of emotions that drug him around in the undertow. Duo had no idea what he drew out of the other pilot, and Heero had no intention of letting him know, not while he was trying so desperately to heal.

Duo whirled suddenly toward the door, the slight sound of the creaking hinges as it opened sent his heart into overdrive. His hand went for the tiny pocket knife he carried with him at all times now, a testament to his unease in the world. The sudden movement sent dark clouds chasing each other before his eyes, and the once agile pilot nearly fell to his knees.

He realized a moment later the only reason he wasn't sprawled gracelessly across the immaculate floor was that Heero held him upright through sheer will. The taller pilot had his shoulder pinned up under Duo's right arm, the other flung across his waist, holding him in an almost intimate embrace.

"You shouldn't be out of bed yet." The pilot chastised, leading him easily to the warmth of the four poster bed. Duo was forced to follow his lead, like a blind man being guided by his faithful companion; he had not the strength to protest even though everything in him demanded that Heero leave him be. Heero was no fool, he could sense the rebellion coming even before the words struck out, he could also see that Duo was still not putting on any weight; his unfinished lunch sat on the corner table drawing flies from the open window.

"Heero." Duo's warning tone was all he could get out. The braided pilot was still much weaker than he let on, and he still needed his rest; though he seemed bound and determined to be out of bed as fast as humanly possible.

"Duo, you know that you should still be resting. Your not doing your body any good trying to push so hard so fast." Duo scowled at the comforter, a reproach dieing on his lips. Heero sighed. "If I bring you a chair out on the balcony, would you promise to use it?"

Duo looked up in shock, curious as to why Heero would be so considerate, not that he wasn't a considerate person to begin with, but this went above and beyond anything Duo had ever seen him do.

"Why?" He asked, looking up into the other's face quizzically. Heero schooled his features against those piercing aqua eyes, turning away from him in the effort.

"I just don't want to see you keep hurting yourself so that you can be out in the sunshine, besides, the fresh air would do you good. You're getting too pale cooped up in this room all the time." Heero's comment took some of the weight off of Duo's heart, he smiled a truly grateful smile at the taller man.

"Thank you, I'd like that." The nod he got in reply was checked, like Heero wanted to say something more, but he didn't dare.

"How come you're not eating?" The question had been coming for a long time. Heero had watched him dwindle away at his food for weeks now, touching it less and less as the days went by, like he was slowly giving up all hope. Duo shrugged at him, a submissive gesture that didn't belong on the shoulders of the once overly confident pilot. Heero wondered often if he would be able to handle a mission as jumpy and timid as he had become.

"Just not hungry I guess."

"Duo… This isn't healthy." Duo snorted.

"Trust me, I don't need the extra calories. I'm not using them sitting around here all day. I should be out training with the rest of you. Wufei is up before dawn every day doing his chakras in that little grove of trees outside my window, and I can hear Trowa in the gym about an hour later. I'm just sitting around here, like some useless piece of furniture. I haven't had a mission since I got back, and somehow I didn't miss any while I was locked up. How is that possible Heero? How is it possible that the world went on without me, that no one even noticed that I was missing? What difference does it really make if I eat or not when it doesn't matter if I'm even alive!" The outburst was unexpected, for both of them. Duo's chest heaved with the effort and expelled emotions that he had been holding inside. He gripped the sheets on the bed like a lifeline as he drowned in the sea of unshed tears dancing at the edge of his eyes.

Heero blinked at the too thin man seated before him, unsure how to answer him. He'd never seen Duo like this, so full of despair. It didn't seem natural for the jovial man to be so depressed. He could understand the feelings he was going through, he'd felt the same way when he woke up after months in a coma after his self-destruction. The feelings had taken a long time to go away, and if he hadn't had Trowa…. The thought made him want to bite his lip, instead he frowned deeply at his friend and moved to sit beside him on the bed.

"Duo, that's not true. I can see how you would feel that way, but it only seems like you're all alone. Besides, you were missed, greatly missed."

"Oh yeah? By who?" The words came out more sarcastically than he had intended, they made him feel young and nieve, something he rarely felt these days.

"I did." The look of shock that crossed Duo's face silenced them both. There was no way for him to reply to that comment, the words held too much weight. The wounded pilot gulped, glancing down at the bed sheets unable to form a coherent thought, let alone reply to Heero's confession. The silence stiffened Heero's spine, forcing a sigh from his lips.

"Look, I have to be gone for a couple of days, on a mission. Promise me that you'll eat while I'm away? If I come back and you aren't ready to start training with me in the mornings, there's going to be hell to pay." Heero pulled the overstuffed arm chair he had practically lived in while Duo was unconscious out onto the wide balcony, not really expecting a reply from the braided man behind him. Duo watched him with cautious eyes, his mind going over the implications of his comments. When Heero turned, he nodded slightly in accension of the deal.

Heero smirked. "Good. I'll be back in a few days." The slender pilot made his way to the door, glancing back over his shoulder at Duo's wistful expression. His eyes were on the open window, unfocused, unseeing as he battled his private thoughts. Heero frowned softly, unsure what he should do to help him through this.

Sally had told him to encourage his recovery, but that didn't seem to be enough for the braided pilot. He didn't seem to want to get better; he'd given up on himself. Heero hated seeing his friend in this condition, but what more could he do? What could he say to him to make that feeling go away?

Frustrated, he entered his own room, grabbing the travel bag he always had packed. He'd have to deal with it when he got back from this mission. Some resolution would have to come, maybe a few days without his constant pressuring would help Duo cope… He hoped….


	9. Chapter 9 Run away

By my Nightmare's Chapter 9

By Shinigami y Inochi

Genre: angst,

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam wing, or any other characters in this story that belong to Bandai.

Reviews: Would love critiques! Using this as a way to get back into writing and would love suggestions!

Chapter 9

Quatre walked into the brightly lit guestroom where Duo was staying; excited to finally get his friend outdoors for a while. He knew all too well how much Duo hated to be cooped up. He paused when he entered, his hand still on the doorknob as he searched the room.

Duo had been more active since Heero left, like he was preparing himself for something. The 01 pilot had been gone longer than any of them had expected, nearly a month now, but Quatre and Trowa had been able to keep in touch with him however infrequently that might have been. Duo hadn't spoken to any of them since his departure either; he seemed to draw in on himself every time one of them got too close.

When Quatre had expressed his concern of the off-color behavior of the other man, Trowa had shrugged his shoulders remissive.

"He's been through a lot Quatre. You can't expect him to just jump out of bed and be the same person he was before right away. Just keep trying, but don't push him too far. He knows you're still his friend; eventually he'll be ok. It's just going to take him some time. Took you a while to get over what the zero system did to you didn't it?"

Quatre had frowned at him in a huff, not wanting to admit how much damage that system had caused him. He shuddered on the inside at the thought of it…

Duo's room was immaculate, the braided pilot had been pacing lately, arranging and rearranging the few items that were there. Trowa had watched him check for his pocketknife over a hundred times one morning when he was alone. That had been part of the decision not to give him a firearm just yet, 02 was still too trigger-happy to be trusted among friends. Turn him loose in an enemy base however…

The balcony door was flung open wide, filling the room with the sweet smell of the orchids and lilacs growing on the ground below. A soft breeze fluttered through the soft film of the curtains across the tall windows. Duo had kept those doors open day and night since he could get himself out of bed long enough to go open. Wufei had complained about security several times, but the look on the other pilot's face when he'd gone to close them one evening convinced him not to touch the doors and to keep his own rooms more secured if anyone were to get in.

Quatre crossed the room toward the sun-baked balcony, expecting to see the long chestnut braid flowing out along the edge of the balcony while Duo lounged in the soft heat of early spring. The blonde put a hand over his eyes against the glare, squinting in his search, but Duo was not on the balcony.

The empty marble platform sent a coil of fear down into his belly, twisting and writhing like a great snake. Where had the injured pilot gone? Surely he wasn't ready to be out and about on his own, the scaring on his chest had just barely healed and he wasn't back up to strength yet. A dark thought crossed his mind; they hadn't been keeping Duo updated on Heero's status lately, simply telling him he was fine and not too worry overly much about the perfect soldier. He wouldn't have gone after him, would he?

Quatre just barely caught sight of the half piece of paper fluttering on the bed sheets in his mad dash for the door to give Trowa a heads up. Two steps took him to the bed; a trembling hand reaching out for what he was sure was a suicide note.

Guys,

There's something I need to take care of. Don't follow me; you wouldn't know where to look anyway. I can't just sit around here being useless, and I won't be of use to any of you until I can get over this. Tell Heero for me. I'll be back if I can.

Duo

Relief flooded through the blonde Arab, relief that he wouldn't walk outside to find his friend floating face down in the pool or bloody in the bathroom; and yet trepidation filled him as he realized what the idiot had done. Where was he going to go? What kind of trouble was he going to get himself into now? What would Heero say?

The blonde heir took a running leap off the balcony, landing with expert grace in a tight roll on the pristine lawn below and taking off like a shot for their Gundam's hiding place; and Trowa….


	10. Chapter 10 Where too now?

By my Nightmare's Chapter 11

By Shinigami y Inochi

Genre: angst,

Pairings: 1x2 3x4

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam wing, or any other characters in this story that belong to Bandai.

Reviews: Would love critiques! Using this as a way to get back into writing and would love suggestions!

Chapter 10

Duo stood in the shadows of a deserted alleyway, eyes closed tightly against the barrage of information invading his system. His breath came in quick gasps, both from over exerting and fear. The world seemed to collapse in on him, burying him beneath it's sheer weight.

One hand rested against the cool brick wall next to him as he forced himself to deal with the sounds of the city. He could hear people shouting in the street to his left, cars rushing by; horns honking and tires crunching along the pavement. The change was so drastic from that of Quatre's serene hide-away that he almost didn't believe it was real.

"You can handle this. Just get over it. You can handle this. Just get over it." Duo repeated the phrase over and over again, a tiny mantra in his head, giving him needed focus and direction. Time passed slowly, he had no idea how long he simply stood there taking in the array of events unfolding all around him. Every few moments a new sound would cause him to flinch, his hand coming away from the wall and instinctively going for a weapon he did not have with him.

"Come on! You grew up in a city full of people! An orphan used to the streets. You should be more at home here than at Quatre's. What's wrong with you?" He pounded his fist into the wall, feeling the blood rush up over his knuckles where they impacted with solid rock. A frown crinkled his arcane features and he opened his eyes; blinking back at the light as they adjusted.

His feet moved sluggishly when he moved forward toward the street. No one here would recognize him. No one here would have any reason to look twice at him. After all, wasn't Duo's best skill the ability to hide in plain sight? The street he entered was virtually empty, the middle of the day seeing most of the city's occupants busy at work or at home. The sun shown down invitingly, weaving a spell of calm over the traumatized soldier.

Duo took a deep, shaking breath and started walking; forcing his feet to keep moving, his mind telling him that if he just kept moving, just kept pushing forward, the fear would go away. He traveled that way for the better part of the day, wandering the streets taking in the sights and sounds all around him; and the fear did dissipate gradually. His heart still leapt into his throat at sudden sounds, but he could deal with the babble of voices and the constant motion of cars.

'Trial by fire.' He thought with a soft grin of satisfaction. 'Should have told Heero not to coddle me so much. It's not normal for street trash to have someone take care of them. ' Eventually, he even got up the courage to order some food from a nearby street vendor. His smile was forced and he didn't say much; very uncharacteristic behaviors, but he was able to make his needs clean to the small Asian woman running the cart and keep his hands from visibly shaking.

He took a seat at a deserted bench near a closed café, sitting with his back as close to the wall as he could get it, his eyes ever watchful over the street in front of him. He used to enjoy watching the common civilian go about their daily life; it reminded him what they were fighting for. He silently observed the people around him now, citizens of earth completely oblivious to the assassin in their midst. They went about their chores, some with the gusto of a happy life and others with determination.

A pair of giggling middle-aged women entered a dress shop just down the street, their cheerful conversation drifting to the listening pilot easily. Duo filed the voices away in the back of mind, focusing on each individual as they passed, falling back into trained behavior. The action was making him feel better, more in control of himself and the situation around him. Some of his old confidence was starting to return, maybe he could still be of use to the others; maybe he could get over this stupid fear of being out in the open. After all, nothing had happened all day, right? He was accepted back into general society without even a second glance.

He ran a hand gently over his chest, rubbing at the thick scar the doctor had left for him. He'd had to start working the skin more. He was already starting to feel the effects of the gentle stroll he'd taken today, what would it feel like to run with this injury? Would he be able to move as silently as he once did? How badly had it affected his range of motion?

The questions were always constant for him now. Washing over him like a wave and washing away the quiet confidence he had harbored only moments before. Would he really be able to keep?

The flurry of questions had distracted him. Distracted him long enough that he hadn't seen the intruder coming until he heard to cock of a gun at his forehead. Wide violet eyes looked up into his attackers face, terror gripping at him like a zombie, holding him utterly still in his seat. Recognition flooded those darkened pools, just as despair ground away at the remnants of his heart.

"No." The denial was little more than a whisper, a haunted glimpse into a troubled soul.

"You're a hard man to find Duo Maxwell. My master would have been quite impressed." Contraki held the 45 up against his bangs with easy grace, ignoring the fact that they were in broad daylight in the middle of a civilian area; after all, this was a war. There were no safe havens in war.

"I thought you were dead." Contraki smirked.

"It takes far more than your little pilot friend to kill me, I assure you. Now, the smartest thing for you to do right now is to stand up and come with me without a fight. Wouldn't want to see any of these nice people get hurt, now would we?" She gestured to the people slowly drifting by, unknowing at their own danger. Duo blinked reflexively, his chest heaving with repressed rage and fear. He shook his head softly, rising gracefully to his feet before her.

The soldier survived in him still, enough that his anger gave him the ability to hold his head high as she gestured for him to walk in front of her. He trembled internally, forcing his limbs into stillness so she would not see how much terror her presence caused him.

'No!' His mind screamed, rolling over itself in a tangle of surpressed emotions. 'This can't be happening. I can't go back there, I just got away! She can't take me back there, I can't let her. I should never have left. God's what have I done?' He stumbled suddenly, the heaviness of impending death physically weighing him down. He put a hand out instinctively for the wall, catching himself stiffly; bracing for the bullet he was sure would come; but Contraki simply shoved him forward steering the pilot to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town….


End file.
